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RUTGERS UNIVERSITY—NEW BRUNSWICK
WEDNESDAY APRIL 3, 2019
Union tweets picket duty sign-ups have begun
Prosecutors to talk sexual assault on Rutgers’ campus
BRENDAN BRIGHTMAN & PRIYANKA BANSAL NEWS & MANAGING EDITORS
BRENDAN BRIGHTMAN NEWS EDITOR
Twenty-one county prosecutors in New Jersey will be holding community forums on local college campuses to address the issue of campus sexual violence this upcoming fall, according to a SEE CAMPUS ON PAGE 5
ONLINE AT DAILYTARGUM.COM
University President Robert L. Barchi sent a message stating that he aims to prevent sexual harassment by bringing more transparency to their investigations. GARRETT STEFFE / ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR
Members of the Rutgers American Association of University Professors and American Federation of Teachers (AAUP-AFT) are now signing up for picket duty in preparation for a possible strike, the faculty union tweeted yesterday. The union also tweeted the teletown hall for members has been
moved from Thursday of this week to Monday, April 8. Jennifer Caroccio, a teaching assistant at Rutgers—Newark, tweeted yesterday, “I love my class, I love teaching Latinx studies. I don’t want to strike but I can’t stand by while Admin turns Rutgers into a corporation.1 #FairContractNow #RUReady2Strike.” The hashtag #FairContractNow is used widely in the online SEE SIGN-UPS ON PAGE 4
RUSA election results are in, Virani wins NICOLE WOOTTON-CANE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Preliminary results for the 2019 Rutgers University Student Assembly (RUSA) elections suggest a general victory for the “Our Rutgers” ticket. Headed by School of Arts and Sciences juniors Jhanvi Virani, student affairs committee chair, and Aneesh Deshpande, academic affairs committee chair, “Our Rutgers” ran on a platform of improving the Rutgers undergraduate experience through student government. Virani is now set to become the first female Asian American RUSA president, with Deshpande serving as vice president. Nicholas LaBelle, a Rutgers Business School sophomore, will become treasurer. “Our Rutgers” candidates also took 5 out of 7 available senator
at large positions, as well as the majority of campus representative and senator roles. In an interview with The Daily Targum, Virani said: “I couldn’t be prouder of how ‘Our Rutgers’ did in this election. Even students who ran unopposed put in the time to get out the vote and campaign for their fellow ticket members, many of whom did have competition on the ballot.” She said she is excited to see the energy from the election carry forward in the start of her term with fellow elected representatives and to see who runs in the upcoming executive board elections. Those running as independents did have some success, most notably with Isaac Velez, a School of Ar ts and Sciences first-year, becoming the College Avenue Class of 2022 representative, SEE RESULTS ON PAGE 5
Jhanvi Virani, a School of Arts and Sciences junior and future president of Rutgers University Student Assembly, said she was looking forward to seeing the energy from the elections carry on to the start of her term next semester. LINKEDIN
Mason Gross has U.’s lowest admissions rate CATHERINE NGUYEN NEWS EDITOR
Oladayo Alade, a Mason Gross School of the Arts sophomore, said she chose to attend Rutgers because there were various concentrations within the film department she was interested in learning about. COURTESY OF OLADAYO ALADE
Compared to other undergraduate schools at Rutgers, Mason Gross School of the Arts has the highest percentage of out-ofstate students, close to double that of the School of Arts and Sciences and School of Engineering. According to the final enrollment report from 2018, 23.0 percent of students at Mason Gross School of the Arts were from out of state. This compares to 14.8 percent of out-of-state students enrolled in
VOLUME 151, ISSUE 37 • UNIVERSITY ... 3 • OPINIONS ... 6 • INSIDE BEAT... 8• DIVERSIONS ... 9• SPORTS ... BACK
the School of Arts and Sciences and 12.6 percent in the School of Engineering. Kara Cabrera, the director of Admissions at Mason Gross School of the Arts, attributes this figure to the faculty at the school. She said the faculty roster includes professional artists who have been nominated and have gone on to win Tony Awards, Guggenheim fellowships, Bessies, Grammys and other honors. Since students have the opportunity to study with these SEE RATE ON PAGE 4
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April 3, 2019
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Campus Calendar WEDNESDAY 4/03 The School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program presents “’Journalism and Democracy: Renewing Trust in American,’ the Richard D. Heffner Open Mind Lecture” from 5:30 to 7:15 p.m. at Winants Hall on the College Avenue campus. This event is free and open to the public. Office of the Chancellor New Brunswick presents “From Rutgers Grad. to Conser vation Visionar y: Lessons from a Lifetime Devoted to Conser vation” from 4 to 5 p.m. at Rutgers Academic Building on the College Avenue campus. This event is free and open to the public.
Student Center on Douglass campus. This event is free and open to the public. TA Project presents “Managing Your Online Presence and Digital Teaching Portfolio for the Academic Job Market” from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at Busch Student Center on Busch campus. This event is free and open to the public. FRIDAY 4/05 Center for Human Evolutionary Studies presents “Lecture: The Evolution of Morality” from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Dr. Ruth M. Adams Building on Douglass campus. This event is free and open to the public.
Rutgers Geology Museum presents “Geologic Time Late Night” from 4 to 8 p.m. at Geology Hall on the College Avenue campus. This event is free and open to the public.
Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers presents “Film Screening: The Gate of Heavenly Peace” from 6 to 9 p.m. at Murray Hall on the College Avenue campus. This event is free and open to the public.
THURSDAY 4/04 Center for Counseling, Alcohol and Other Drugs Assistance Program and Psychiatric Services presents “Mindfulness Meditation” from noon to 1 p.m. at Douglass
SATURDAY 4/06 Mason Gross School of the Arts presents “The Rehearsal” at 7:30 p.m. at Victoria J. Mastrobuono Theater on Douglass campus. This event is $15 for students.
If you would like to submit an event for the Campus Calendar section, please email marketing@dailytargum.com. For more information please visit www.dailytargum.com. Due to space limitations there is no guarantee that your event will be listed.
CORRESPONDENTS MATTHEW HOWE, ALEXANDRA FABUGAIS-INABA, ROBERT SANCHEZ, COBY GREEN, CLARISSA GORDON, JAKE MCGOWAN, EAMONN O’NEILL STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS CASEY AMBROSIO, CURSTINE GUEVARRA, MICA FINEHART
CORRECTIONS The Daily Targum promptly corrects all errors of substance. If you have a comment or question about the fairness or accuracy of a story, send an email to eic@dailytargum.com.
April 3, 2019
UNIVERSITY
Page 3
Professor says flu shots still important for spring LEONARD TAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Spring is in the air, and so is the flu. Dr. David Cennimo, an infectious disease expert at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) discussed the prevalence of the flu even in the springtime, emphasizing that it is still important to get vaccinated. Some may think that flu season coincides with the beginning and end of winter, since the majority of people get sick with the flu during that time frame, but this is actually not true, Cennimo said. “The flu actually circulates in the U.S. throughout the year. Most years, it starts in earnest in October and peaks in late winter (February), though appreciable numbers of cases can be seen into May in some years. In New Jersey, we usually see the flu in late December through the end of February,” he said. Though it is April, the flu has not weakened and continues to be elevated in New Jersey. “Currently, we are still seeing high flu activity in New Jersey which is later than many other past years,” Cennimo said. “The epidemiology is still being studied in real time, but it looks like we are experiencing a second wave of influenza infections.”
Two types of influenza that can be found in humans are H1N1 and H3N2. In particular, the H3N2 virus can be dangerous because it was found that last year, there was a high severity of the strain across all age groups. FLICKR There are four different types of influenza viruses, but the two that are the most severe are influenza A and B, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website. These two strains of flu cause seasonal epidemics almost ever y winter.
“The emergence of a new and very different influenza A virus to infect people can cause an influenza pandemic,” according to the website. There are two strains of influenza A viruses that can be found in humans — H1N1 and H3N2 — and two lineages of influenza
B viruses. Cennimo said the difference in these strains are due to slight differences in specific proteins found in the virus. Cennimo said the threat of the H3N2 virus in particular can be dangerous, as last year was the first that recorded high severity of the strain across all age groups.
“The H3N2 virus predominated and might have been more virulent ... the vaccine formulation was also estimated to be 25 percent effective against H3N2, which may have contributed,” he said. “Flu deaths in adults are not codified in reporting, but the estimates are higher than past years. Over 700,000 patients were hospitalized.” With that being said, Cennimo recommended vaccinations for flu prevention. “Prevention is key. Vaccinations are one widely used and needed strategy. Everyone should get a vaccine,” he said. Other means of prevention can include small measures, such as staying home when sick to avoid infecting others, practicing hand hygiene and using respiratory etiquette. “It really is that simple, and will also protect from other respiratory viruses,” he said. The CDC recommended that in the case that one does contract the flu, one starts taking flu antiviral drugs within two days of getting sick. “Vaccines usually take around two weeks to show full protection. That written, the season is still going strong, so I think they would still be effective and useful,” Cennimo said.
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April 3, 2019
RATE Mason Gross’ acceptance rate is approximately 21 percent CONTINUED FROM FRONT professors, many of whom are active professionals in their field, Cabrera said it helps to instill confidence, a reason that outof-state students may apply to Mason Gross. Another reason why the percentage may be so high is because Rutgers is very close to New York City, which Cabrera said is “one of the undisputed meccas of performing and visual arts.”
“I want to have the opportunity to direct, produce, write and act in one of my films.” OLADAYO ALADE Mason Gross School of the Arts Junior
As a smaller conser vator y, with only approximately 800 undergraduate students, she said prospective students can also learn in a more intimate setting and receive personalized attention. Mason Gross is also more selective than other schools at Rutgers. According to a report from Peterson’s, the acceptance rate for Mason Gross was 21 percent. The overall University acceptance rate was much higher at 58 percent, according to US News.
The admissions process for Mason Gross is slightly different from other schools such as the School of Arts and Sciences or School of Engineering, Cabrera said. Students must also send a supplementary application, which can involve an audition for those looking to major in dance, music or acting, or an interview for those planning to major in theater design, technical direction or stage management. Faculty members are also involved in the decision process, since some of them review the “artistic ability” of any applicants majoring in visual arts, design or filmmaking and provide an evaluation to the Mason Gross Admissions process, Cabrera said. Though the out-of-state percentage is much higher at Mason Gross than other schools, she said that state residency is not part of the evaluation when reviewing a prospective student’s application. The departments within Mason Gross that have the highest percentage of out-of-state students are Theater, which Cabrera said is between 60 and 75 percent out-ofstate students, and Dance, with between 35 and 50 percent. Claire Zwolak, a Mason Gross School of the Arts first-year from Philadelphia, said she chose Rutgers despite not being from New Jersey because of its wellknown dance program. “They bring in amazing choreographers ever y semester,
SIGN-UPS AAUP-AFT is calling for raises to teaching assistants’ salaries, which have not increased since 2013 CONTINUED FROM FRONT academic strike movement, namely at University of Illinois at Chicago and the Community College of Philadelphia, both of which the Rutgers AAUP-AFT account has shown solidarity with on Twitter.
strike planning was underway, and one of the tweets said: “Just wrapped up a strike planning meeting in Anthropology. Like many departments, we rely on
The Civic Square Building, which is located in New Brunswick, is home to the Department of Art and Design at Rutgers. A large percentage of students majoring in these disciplines, as well as others in the Mason Gross School of the Arts, are from out of state. RUTGERS.EDU and first-years are given the opportunity to audition for their pieces, which is almost unheard of at other schools,” she said. When it comes to her classes, she had ballet every morning at 8 a.m. except Fridays, and anywhere from two to five classes afterward which she said is intense on both the mind and the body.
She has also noticed the high percentage of out-of-state students, but does not see it as a positive or negative fact. Since she is attending Rutgers with a scholarship, she said price was a factor into her decision to come to Rutgers. Oladayo Alade, a Mason Gross School of the Arts junior from Michigan, said she decided to come to Rutgers because of the
three various concentrations offered within film. She had also transferred from Rutgers—Newark to Rutgers—New Brunswick in order to learn at Mason Gross. “I want to have the opportunity to direct, produce, write and act in one of my films,” she said. “And I believed that Mason Gross was the perfect place to explore all of those options.”
non-tenured & grad labor. Barchi’s refusal to negotiate on grad & adjunct contracts is disgraceful. Are we ready to strike? Heck yes.” Deepa Kumar, president of the AAUP-AFT and associate professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, said the union is fighting to increase the ratio between fulltime faculty and students, equal pay for equal work for female
faculty and to raise the salary of teaching assistants, who earn $26,000 a year and have not seen a raise since 2013. The Targum reported on Monday that the union is also asking for an additional $15 million for a Paul Robeson Diversity Hiring Initiative for 2019-2020 and 100 Paul Robeson fellowships for graduate students from underrepresented groups. University President
Robert L. Barchi has previously promised $21.7 million for diversity hiring through 2021. Dory Devlin, senior director of University News and Media Relations, said earlier this month that agreements have been made among five of Rutgers’ labor unions, which have generally given 3-percent raises to members, and that the University continues to negotiate in good faith and on a regular basis.
“I don’t want to strike but I can’t stand by while Admin turns Rutgers into a corporation.” JENNIFER CAROCCIO Teaching Assistant at Rutgers-Newark
Along with hashtags to support its movement, the union at Rutgers—Camden started a food drive to show solidarity this week. The Rutgers AAUP-AFT account tweeted on March 31, “Pres Barchi makes more money in 2 weeks than TAs/GAs make all year, yet he refuses to negotiate on grad salary and job security. Camden faculty: show your solidarity with grads. Donate nonperishable food items from 4/1-4/4 in lounges across campus #Solidarity #RUReady2Strike.” The Daily Targum reported last week that AAUP-AFT tweeted
A hashtag used in the academic strike movement is #FairContractNow, which the Rutgers faculty union’s Twitter page has shown solidarity with. GARRETT STEFFE / ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR
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April 3, 2019
CAMPUS Prosecutors will visit 21 college campuses in NJ this upcoming fall CONTINUED FROM FRONT press release by the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety. This was announced during the New Jersey Conference on Campus Sexual Violence, an event hosted by the Center on Violence Against Women and Children in Somerset, New Jersey. “We will steadfastly defend the right of students to receive an education free of sexual harassment, violence and discrimination,” said Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, according to the release. “The message that I want these survivors to hear is this: there are prosecutors across the state and investigators working with them who dedicate their lives to prosecuting cases like yours and pursuing justice for survivors like you.” The events on campus will be part of the 21-County, 21st Century Community Policing Project, which the Attorney General’s Office began a year ago. The goal of the project is to bring law enforcement and community stakeholders together in every county for town hall meetings, roundtable discussions and other events to address vital issues, according to the release. The conference, which was attended by University President Robert L. Barchi, also heard the
overview of recommendation by the New Jersey Task Force on Campus Sexual Assault, according to a tentative agenda of the event. The Daily Targum reported in February that Barchi had written in a message sent to Rutgers’ Board of Governors Chair Sandy Stewart and Vice Chair Mark Angelson that the University-wide Sexual Harassment Prevention Committee was set to release its recommendations soon. The committee began last fall, where concerns were raised regarding the University’s two-year limit on conducting investigations. Barchi’s message was released after concerns were raised by a student on behalf of the coalition “End Assault at Rutgers” at a Board of Governors meeting that same month. The student delivered eight demands to change the way the University conducts sexual assault investigations, according to the Targum. “This committee is charged with making recommendations that will ensure that the University is proactive in preventing sexual harassment, bringing greater transparency to our reporting, providing world-class training for faculty and staff and engaging in thoughtful assessment on the effectiveness of our approaches,” Barchi said in the message.
RESULTS Virani says she could not be prouder of how ‘Our Rutgers’ campaign went CONTINUED FROM FRONT and Pramodh Manian, a School of Ar ts and Sciences junior, winning the role of of fcampus senator.
“Our Rutgers” was the only ticket on the ballot this year, with Virani, Deshpande, LaBelle and many senators running unopposed. In an interview with the Targum last week, Virani
Aneesh Deshpande, a School of Arts and Sciences junior, will be serving as vice president of Rutgers University Student Assembly next semester. LINKEDIN
Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, said in a press release that the state will work to defend the rights of students against sexual harassment, violence and discrimination. Prosecutors across the state are currently working on sexual assault cases. TWITTER
discussed her priorities, which included advocating for mental health services on campus, alleviating the rising costs of college and addressing sexual assault culture on campus.
Discussing his taking over the role of vice president, Deshpande said: “I am extremely excited to be rewarded with the opportunity to ser ve our student government in this capacity. ‘Our
Rutgers’ is a group of passionate students that are focused on the student experience, and I am confident that working with Jhanvi and the rest of the assembly will result in success.”
OPINIONS
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April 3, 2019
Recognizing differences can foster understanding
I
t is not news that Rutgers is divided into numerous sub-sects of social and YVONNE OLAYEMI ethnic groups. We are comprised of a student body from all over the world. What I feel unifies many of us as students at Rutgers is that despite the overwhelming population here, we are able to create bonds based on ethnic backgrounds, shared culture and/or upbringing. All over this University are culturally-based organizations and programs geared toward the networking, collaborating and uplifting of individuals who identify with certain groups. This is especially seen among ethnic minorities. Among these seemingly unified groups, there are divisions based on what can be internally perceived as disparities regarding how one is able to relate. I believe these classifying disparities can present themselves in virtually any ethnic group. This week, TWESE, The Organization for African Students and Friends of Africa, is hosting a meeting entitled “Who Am I.” A few days ago, my friend, a member of the TWESE e-board, posed the question: “What do you feel is the difference between people who were born and raised in our countries, people like us, and Black Americans?” By “people like us,” my friend meant individuals who identify as some form of African, with parents who were brought up in Africa, but were themselves born and raised in America. When he asked the question, I immediately understood my position on our differences. It is funny because, from the outside perspective, Black Rutgers is a unit all on its own. But the truth is that although we are one unit, we are nonetheless subdivided into African Rutgers, Caribbean Rutgers and so forth. We are then further segmented into Nigerian Rutgers, Ghanaian Rutgers, Haitian Rutgers, Jamaican Rutgers, etc. Among these segments, we are classified even further by who has lived and schooled in their native country, who can speak the language of their people, who demonstrates greater understanding of and comfort with their culture and the list goes on. In my response to my friend, I stayed within the parameters of his question, and framed my response around the three examples he provided, the first two of which I believe can apply to any ethnic group found at Rutgers. The first category of individuals is who I like to call “the natives.” The natives are the ones who were born and/or at least partially raised in the country in which they identify. I will use observations based on my knowledge of the Nigerian community at this school to illustrate this class of individuals. From my perspective, the natives are often low-key about being from their respective countries. It is not at all that they hide it, but rather that they seldom go out of their way to present themselves in a way that flaunts their ethnicity. I view this casual indifference as a demonstration of sureness, a sureness in their cultural identity. The second category of individuals is what I call “the first-gens.” The first-gens were either born in America, or born in their family’s native country, but did not live there long enough to be substantially shaped by its culture and customs. I identify with this category. At Rutgers, among first-gens, I notice a more fervent display of culture as they are often seen parading their cultural identity and going out of their way to assure that others see who they are and where they are from. First-gens are the more zealous of ethnic sub-sects. I view this zeal as a well-intended overcompensation for the fact that they feel an inherent sense of otherness when it comes to their cultural identity. The concept of othering isolates people who do not fit the social norm of a group and puts them in a category of “other.” The common issue among first-gens is being “too ethnic” for Americans and “too American” for the natives. From what I have seen and experienced, there is always an underlying desire to prove oneself and assert one’s belonging among individuals in this group. The third category, which I feel mostly applies to the Black population, is simply “Black Americans.” The Black Americans category is comprised of Black individuals who, as far as they know, have the most notable portions of their lineage set in America. At Rutgers, I notice the many ways in which this category experiences othering from the rest of the ethnic sub-sects. I believe the general evolution of pop-culture has made it so that being from somewhere other than America has become “cool,” for lack of a better term. There is a sense of pride associated with being of a different set of traditions, influences and customs. This revival of pride and honor has resulted in a beautifully obnoxious display of patriotism that, while necessary for the societal shift toward understanding and accepting other cultures, can sometimes be isolating as well. Their over-compensatory efforts are an attempt to reconnect with roots that they often have no knowledge of. Due to that lack of knowledge, the only feasible method of making the desired association seems to be to try to connect to every sub-sect in some way, which is an endeavor that I believe only breeds a greater sense of otherness. I want to assure anyone reading this that my goal is not at all to generalize or pick at any group, nor do I desire to question anyone’s cultural or ethnic identity. But we do very much exist in an environment that is lined by all of these separations and classifications. The question is whether we allow our knowledge of these differences to fuel an attempt at increased understanding or use it as a tool for further division and destruction within our communities, whether it be school communities, home communities or communities within our society at large.
LIFE AT RU
Yvonne Olayemi is a School of Arts and Sciences junior majoring in biological sciences. Her column “Life At RU,” runs on alternate Wednesdays.
UNIVERSAL UCLICK
EDITORIAL
NJ gov’t. officials stand against polluters Duty of upholding environmental justice falls to local, state gov’t.
F
or decades, they knew and did nothing. They did nothing and watched as cancer rates rose and lives were torn apart. Since the 1970s, a facility of the chemical giant DuPont polluted the groundwater of the Pompton Lakes area. The contamination seeped into both the soil and the lives of New Jerseyans as hundreds of households sat on top of an underground plume of toxic chemicals. Documents dating back to 1979 show that the company understood the danger was present and knew the solvents would vaporize and intrude into the homes standing on the ground above. Yet, they refused to act, obscured the evidence of the issue and then made light of the extent of the toxicity. Residents would not be informed of the vaporization until 2008. By this time, lymphoma and kidney cancers rates already escalated to startling levels in the area. The pursuit of justice under former Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.) was detrimentally lackluster. DuPont had a gross profit of $10 billion in 2016. While the company has spent millions addressing some aspects of the polluted legacy of its existence in New Jersey, the contamination remains unaddressed beneath more than 400 homes. Now, DuPont is one of four companies that New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal has filed lawsuits against for its poisoning of the Garden State. One of the other lawsuits attempts to hold a different facility — operated by DuPont and 3M in Parlin and located near schools and parks — that has generated and released waste with chemicals linked to “birth defects, cancer, liver malfunction, thyroid disease and reduced immune responses in children accountable.” The Natural Resource Damages lawsuits act as a warning to the polluters that accept a trade-off between advancing their profits and damaging public welfare. Accountability ought not be scoffed at by industries that slow-walk the clean-up process until the incident is forgotten. “We’re sending a strong message,” Grewal said, “that no matter how long you’ve been getting away with contaminating our state’s natural resources, we are going to hold you accountable in court.” Gov. Phil Murphy’s (D-N.J.) administration has upended the past practice of allowing environmental
injustice to go unchecked. Yesterday, April 2, Murphy signed an executive order rolling back some of the damages of Christie’s term by rescinding his order that obstructed state government from enacting any regulation that was stronger than a comparable federal regulation. But New Jersey is unique in its density of superfund sites and histor y of pollution, demanding a higher degree of protective government actions. “New Jersey needs stronger protections than federal law given our pollution legacy and population density,” said Amy Goldsmith, state director of Clean Action New Jersey. Though it can be argued the executive order should have been signed earlier in the administration, the measure still comes at a fundamentally crucial time as the federal context of climate change policy remains mired by denial, gridlock and the strong influences of serial polluters and the fossil fuel industry. While President Donald J. Trump and his Environmental Protection Agency continues to deregulate protections, federal lawmakers have been sparring over environmental legislation, leaving local and state governments the responsibility and duty to stand their ground against polluters and forge ahead on climate change policies. The city of Santa Fe, New Mexico represents how local government must respond to the dire realities of climate change. The state already suffers water shortages, a problem the 2018 National Climate Assessment (NCA) warns will only worsen in the Southwest. This past November, Santa Fe adopted a sustainability plan, leading the city toward being carbon neutral by 2040. Similarly, at least “19 states are considering or have already set 100 percent clean or renewable electricity targets.” The state government of New Jersey has taken the mantle of environmental justice and responsibility, accepting that the point of indifference has long passed as we now stand in the era of consequence and action. Grassroots movements and citizen lobbying must be the driving forces that ensure America is not led by a government beholden to environmentally destructive corporate interests, but rather this nation must be governed by the will of the people and for the protection of the public’s welfare.
The Daily Targum’s editorials represent the views of the majority of the 151st editorial board. Columns, cartoons and letters do not necessarily reflect the views of the Targum Publishing Company or its staff.
April 3, 2019
Opinions Page 7
Demonized young generations are trying to improve society TRAIPSE THE FINE LINE SRUTI BEZAWADA
J
“
uvenoia:” An unofficial term used to describe the fear and resentment in which older generations regard the newer. It is no new information that millennials and Gen Zs are possibly among the most hated generations to exist, with their violent video games, liberalism, millennial pinks, memes, mental illnesses, killing of entire industries, need for higher salaries, lack of foreseeable housing options, avocados, hipster fashion and disruption of the nuclear family. I mean, how dare they enjoy their lives given the pressure mounting on them to succeed more than ever before? In all seriousness, there is a wide perception that the world’s young adults and children are unfit to take on the future, and that they are too sensitive or too depressed or too unaware. There is only one way to combat this notion. To fight back. And dare I say this is going wonderfully well, mainly because of a single weapon: Social media. Approximately a month ago, on March 5, Byron Román uploaded two photos to Facebook captioned: “Here is a new #challenge for all you bored teens. Take a photo of an area that needs some cleaning or maintenance, then take a photo after you
have done something about it, and post it.” #trashtag went viral on social media, with the original Facebook post surpassing 320,000 shares and accumulating 25,000 posts on Instagram. Hundreds of thousands of teenagers retweeted the challenge on Twitter and Reddit as well. But the most important result of this wholesome challenge was the volume of participants. Young adults from Guatemala to the Philippines to Vietnam to almost every nation in the world posted before and after pictures of themselves collecting litter, cleaning local parks and even entire shores. To be fair, Román’s #trashtag was the last domino to topple in the game for popularity. The idea itself was nothing new. On October 2015, Afroz Shah organized a massive cleanup effort of Mumbai, India’s popular but heavily polluted Versova Beach. The monumental feat earned Shah the title of Champion of the Earth, which is the highest environmental honor the United Nations awards. In fact, even the hashtag “#trashtag” is not new. It started as a Twitter campaign by UCO Gear, a company that specializes in outdoor equipment, around the same time Shah was cleaning Versova Beach. The crucial difference between these projects and the global recognition of Román’s #trashtag is the context. The challenge is not meant to be an organized, cohesive or proactive effort. Román
himself spontaneously decided to pick up trash in his local area and upload photos in the hope that others would do the same. He modeled it as a #challenge, an online trend of people recording themselves contending with obstacles of varying degrees of difficulty, and made it appear as something people could do in the spur of the moment. Whether Román realized it or not, he genuinely appealed to teenagers and harnessed their power, little by little, making an immense difficulty accessible. A more sobering example of the impact younger generations have via social media is the anti-gun violence movement. Last year, a young man armed with a semiautomatic rifle killed 17 people in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, injuring many more. Unfortunately, during that same year, more than 300 people were murdered in schools. Survivors of the Parkland shooting had enough. In one of the most historic examples of youth activism, the internet-savvy survivors have amassed a growing social media army millions strong under the #NeverAgain banner, recruiting hundreds of demonstrators in national anti-gun violence protests, directly confronting influential public figures and inspiring young people around the world to challenge their governments and societies. Many of their posts are unfiltered, witty comebacks
aimed at ignorant words and actions of prominent politicians and news stations. These tweets have since gone massively viral, attracting more and more revitalized young people to their cause. But the most fascinating aspect of this movement is its life. Our attention spans are shrinking, and we have become so desensitized to terrible news that media barely cover it for longer than a day. But the war against gun violence rages even a year after the massacre. How did the teenagers mastermind this worldwide rebellion? As young adults themselves, they understand their audience. By constantly uploading clips, GIFs, memes, reactions and interacting with their followers, they have rallied an ardent, sympathetic base of fellow young adults energized and ready to fight for their rights. #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo and numerous more online campaigns are now bleeding into real life, forcing people to stop looking away from the wound. And it is young adults who have ripped off the flimsy bandage. Even if the older generation does not recognize it, it is still happening. After all, the show must go on. Sruti Bezawada is a Rutgers Business School and School of Arts and Sciences sophomore double majoring in marketing and communications and minoring in Japanese. Her column, “Traipse the Fine Line,” runs on alternate Wednesdays.
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Page 8
April 3, 2019
Connection's cost: 'Gig economy' shapes work, personal life SASHA CHUPRAKOVA CONTRIBUTING WRITER
We live in a world that's so plentiful, it’s scarce. We only have so much time and money, with millions of ways to spend it. We have access to pretty much everything and everyone in the world, so how are we supposed to decide among them? Modern life is a balancing act between our career, hobbies, social life, family, personal health and whatever else we find important. It’s a constant trade-off. Every hour we spend with our friends is an hour we could’ve been studying, and every hour we were studying is one we could’ve been working out, and so on and so on. Every choice we make carries the weight of all the possible choices we could have made instead. Economists call this sacrifice an “opportunity cost.” If we're trying to decide what to spend our resources on, they consider whether the value of the choice outweighs the opportunity cost. We have always assigned value to everything in our lives based on a lot of factors: the joy it brings us, how difficult it was to attain or what its monetary worth is. The value of an object, an experience or even a relationship determines how much of our resources we dedicate toward it. It’s fairly straightforward: We invest more
Relationships have always been transactional, but as market demands continue to digitize communication, will this increase the commodification of communication? UNSPLASH in things we care about and less in things we don’t. The problem that seems to be emerging, though, is that there's just too much that we care about. Our time is our most scarce resource, and we have no idea how to allocate it among everything begging for our attention. But there is a way to circumvent this issue, another resource that solves this problem: money. If there's something that we need to get done and is valuable to us,
but we don’t have the time to do it ourselves, we pay someone else. Personal value is incredibly easy to translate into monetary value. We just decide how important something is to us and how much we're willing to pay for it. It didn’t take long for people to capitalize on this. The rise of companies such as Uber, Postmates and TaskRabbit are example enough. There were tasks that people found valuable enough to get done, but not so much to do it themselves, so once
a price tag was slapped on, it was worth your time? Chances are easy money. Now that people are they aren’t random people that ever-so aware of the value of their you just happen to like. Especially in day to day activthe beginning, ities — not only they provided to themselves, “We have to view you with somebut also to other people — new everything through the thing that you found valuable, ways to make lens of opportunity cost. be it social stamoney are popping up all over But that doesn't mean we tus, interesting the place. conversations can't maintain Instagram or help studyinfluencers reing. Someour humanity.” alized that the thing about attention they their presence got was valuwas valuable able not only to themselves, but enough for you to choose them also to companies who needed ad- over other people and other activivertising. Everything is a resource ties. There are plenty of people who and everything is an asset, and that didn’t make the cut and who you allowed our personal lives to slowly decided weren’t worth your time. mesh with our business ones. This trade-off exists in everyUnfortunately, this sort of trans- thing we do, and there really is actional behavior extends far past no way to get rid of it. As long as the interactions of strangers. Ev- we're making choices, we have to erything has an alternative, and decide what holds more value. We everything has an opportunity have to view everything through cost. We're constantly analyzing the lens of its opportunity cost. our decisions to make sure that But that doesn’t mean that we they're the most optimal, even in can’t maintain our humanity. We personal relationships. have to remember that people Why do you spend time with are people first and that not evcertain people? Sure, right now erything in our lives needs to be they’re people that you probably the best possible version. We're have a deep emotional attachment allowed to make decisions that too, but in the beginning? How did might not be the most beneficial you choose your friends? What to us and we're allowed to act made you think that they were without thinking.
Made for niches, online humor is changing comedy EAMONN O'NEILL CORRESPONDENT
The internet is the epicenter for comedy in 2019. Social networks like Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram thrive off of user-generated content. As with all of modern civilization, the best way to garner popularity is through two things: hot takes and comedy. People, television and films have all been able to harness the visceral reactions of human laughter through threading the needle between both.
Stand-up comedians like George Carlin, Richard Pryor and Sarah Silverman, among countless others, took their talents to the stand-up stage. Comedy in the pre-internet age took guts to hone craft, book spots and refine jokes. The internet has ushered in a new form with several iterations. So, as I put on my old head cap, I’ll try and explain the concept of internet jokes. First off, the internet is obviously vast. It's a disparate infinite collection of words,
images and videos relating to any topic known to man. The internet democratizes information so that ever yone can conceivably learn anything. The immense depth of the internet creates intense niches. A niche can be a subreddit or Twitter account dedicated to a film. Or it can be a Tumblr account focused on a specific feeling of a certain task in an exact location that maybe only 10 people relate to. In other words, the internet functions as a collection of
With the expansion of social media, comedy has become a full-fleged multimedia medium. From memes to videos to GIFs, humor is going from the stage to the screen. UNSPLASH
many communities. This is no different than the various audiences and crowds in comedy clubs across the country. An internet joke must know its audience, no matter how big or small. Ok, so now that we established the concept of the niche, the second most crucial element is the medium. There are multiple mediums for comedy on the internet, and also two definitions. A medium can simultaneously be the platform the joke is on and the form that joke takes in picture, text or video. The three main platforms are the aforementioned Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram. Twitter thrives in text-only or text-plus pictures or videos. Tumblr excels at memed images. Instagram is for images and humorous captions, low-fi memes or Instagram stories/live. Twitter jokes are funny because of sardonic wit and a recognition of “knowingness,” either through niche knowledge or mass appeal. Everyone’s Twitter looks different. There’s “Black Twitter,” “gay Twitter,” “film Twitter,” “political Twitter” and, my favorite, “fashion Twitter” (salute Four Pins). Each of these Twitters is a collection of accounts and influencers dispensing information for their community, often through jokes. All of these disparate niches intersect
frequently based on current events. That's the magical and miserable thing about the internet: We all experience the world in vastly different ways. Recently, these niches came together. The “Twitter meet my dad” meme that erupted on April 1 was a hilarious case study in internet joke culture. Every realm of Twitter contributed to the meme and trend. For those unfamiliar with the meme, a user starts with the phrase: “My dad is (insert age here), (insert facts about an older man, often hilarious). So Twitter meet my dad.” The tweet is then paired with photos of a famous person. The joke is making fun of the middle-aged men through either strange photos or playing off the celebrities' public personas. The best of them for my personal niche were of Larry David and Jeff Goldblum. If you use Twitter, I'm sure you have your favorite accounts. I’m currently giggling at a tweet from Hunter Harris (@hunteryharris) of Vulture. Online humor is designed to be for a specific audience to quietly laugh at and share with their in-the-know friends. It's the breaking up of a monotonous culture through the exact same comedic tactics that gave rise to the style of comedy it employs.
DIVERSIONS
April 3, 2019
Mark Tatulli Horoscopes
Lio
Page 9 Eugenia Last
Happy Birthday: Moderation will help keep your life simple this year. Unclutter your life by getting rid of the things you no longer need. Hone your skills, pay closer attention to what’s happening around you and make personal changes that are conducive to helping you achieve your goals. Having more time and greater freedom will prompt you to pursue what makes you happy. Your numbers are 9, 13, 20, 24, 35, 39, 44.
Over The Hedge
T. Lewis and M. Fry
Non Sequitur
Wiley
Pearls Before Swine
Stephan Pastis
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Learn from experience and fine-tune your plans. Initiating positive change will be easier than you think once you get started. Size up your situation, prepare and pursue your goals. Stick to simple plans that are realistic and affordable. 3 stars
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Stop being so hard on yourself and putting up with people who are critical and demeaning. Stand your ground and take stock of your situation. It’s time you spent more time chasing your success instead of helping others get ahead. 3 stars
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Do what you can to help others. The satisfaction and recognition you receive will encourage you to give back more. Offer your time, knowledge and experience, not your cash. Working with someone you love will bring you closer together. 4 stars
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Go directly to the source. Business trips, conference calls, galas and networking functions that give you the opportunity to show off your talents will lead to a window of opportunity you won’t want to miss. Romance is in the stars. 5 stars
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Take the initiative when it comes to hands-on help, but don’t go overboard if someone asks for a hefty donation. Put your financial needs first, and disregard anyone who tries to use guilt to make you part with your cash. 2 stars
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Question anyone or anything that is suspicious. Gullibility will be what leads to loss. Don’t believe everything you hear, and be wary of anyone who is too complimentary. Ulterior motives are present, and caution must be taken. 2 stars
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Start something exciting. Diversify and discover new ways to use your talents. This is a great day to share with someone you enjoy spending time with. Romance is on the rise, and personal gains can be made. 5 stars
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): A change will do you good. Revisit old ideas and goals, and reconnect with people you used to enjoy spending time with. An unusual offer to do something you’ve always wanted to do will give you something to think about. 4 stars
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Differentiate between what’s possible and what isn’t. Head in the direction that brings the highest returns or the most satisfaction. Don’t get hung up on what someone else wants you to do. If you aren’t the one benefiting, move on. 3 stars VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Focus on personal and professional partnerships. Bring out the best in those around you, and cozy up to those who do the same for you. Refuse to let anyone take advantage of you by asking for too much. Equality brings equivalent opportunities. 3 stars
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Make positive changes. You’ll feel better if you get rid of things you no longer use or need. Clearing space will encourage you to start a new project. Don’t let anger lead to misfortune. If something irks you, walk away. 3 stars PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Weed out any negativity in your life. Get rid of things you don’t need. The less clutter, the easier it will be to reach your goals. Making a donation of items you don’t use will make you feel good. 3 stars
©2018 By Eugenia Last distributed by Universal Uclick
Universal Crossword ACROSS
67 Played a role
1 Wood in some yachts
68 Graphic shirt
6 ___ by the rules
69 Pale-looking
11 Yappy dog, briefly
70 Crystal-lined stone
14 “Welcome to Maui!” 15 Weigh station visitors
DOWN
16 Unprocessed rock
1 Little chaps
17 *Teaching job interview parts
2 Actor Baldwin
19 Toto, for Dorothy
3 Oblong tomato
20 Potter’s lightning bolt, e.g.
4 Laugh gleefully
21 Like freshly applied nail polish
5 Scary “2001” computer
22 Reynolds Wrap maker
6 Plus column entry
24 *Fitting compliment?
7 Defeats
28 Beautician’s workplace
8 Texter’s “Just sayin’”
30 End of a long journey
9 Earsplitting noise
33 Like many roads
10 English assignments
34 Turkey ___ (annual run)
11 Fast fashion, hit songs, etc.
36 Yelp review symbol
12 Sister brand of Chips Ahoy!
37 Barnyard mom
13 Self-referential, informally
38 *With ramifications
18 McGregor of “Christopher
41 “Party in the ___” (Miley Cyrus hit)
Robin”
46 Substitute for 48 Really enjoys
42 McCartney and McKellen
23 Auction units
49 Arial, for one
44 “Now!” letters
25 Kotb of “Today”
51 Jack who would eat no fat
45 Made a blunder
26 Single-masted boat
52 Itsy-bitsy
47 Vigilant
27 Granola ingredients
53 Word that bookends
49 Lets loose
28 Welcomed at the door
50 *Fun winery event
29 Regular guy
54 Extreme anger
53 Top of a wave
31 Alleviates
57 Coupe or sedan
55 Livestock enclosure
32 Class of ‘18 member, e.g.
58 Like cold tea
56 Of the flock
33 Currency in Cancun
59 Give up, as land
60 Mecca pilgrimage
34 Sample, as food
62 Chapter in history
61 Ingredient for success, or what’s
35 SZA’s record label
63 “Young Sheldon”
hidden in each starred answer
39 Infield cover
65 Before now
40 College period
66 ___ legend
43 Some cameras: Abbr.
Yesterday’s Solution
“chew the fat”
network 64 Droop, as a couch
Yesterday’s Solution
Page 10
April 3, 2019 WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD KNIGHT STARS ON, OFF TRACK
Rhonda Rogombe almost etches name in books DELANEY ZUBRICK STAFF WRITER
Charleston, West Virginia native junior Rhonda Rogombe, recently had a successful trip to Gainesville, Florida where she continued to climb the ladder toward the Rutgers women’s track and field team’s record in the high jump. Just 0.01 meters shy from her own indoor high jump record, Rogombe continues to adjust her practices countlessly to perfect her form for the coming meets. For Rogombe, her time as a Scarlet Knight has been a balanced
amount of school and sport. Her mind has been focused on creating opportunities for herself in both fields. She redshirted her sophomore year with the idea of becoming a graduate student. “I redshirted last season to stay at Rutgers, which I had planned for the past couple years,” Rogombe said. “I am still waiting to hear back from graduate programs, but I wanted to utilize my time at Rutgers, while I have it.” Rogombe captured the high jump title at the Florida Relays, and also at the last meet of the indoor season back in March. Only a few inches away from the school
record, Rogombe was able to get second-highest jump in school history, and beat her previous record as third-highest. “Beating the school record was not my primary goal,” Rogombe said. “Right now, we are working on getting the right thing at the right time, nothing too dramatic. Just controlling tempo, rhythm and time.” While she has had much success with the Knights, she is more than just an athlete. She is a School of Arts and Sciences junior working in the fields of economics, public policy and public health, while spending
her free time studying obesity and health across the country. Last summer, Rogombe was able to identify concerns related to obesity, income and life expectancy within the United States. She spent her summer with other students presenting options for administrative action to be taken with regards to these concerns. Rogombe said that this experience provided her with a better understanding about communities and their interactions with people and health. It also gave perspective to some of the things that she and other people witness on a daily basis.
Junior Rhonda Rogombe was 0.01 meters shy of tying the Rutgers‘ high jump record in an outdoor season. She had a 1.78-meter jump at the Florida Relays last weekend. THE DAILY TARGUM / JANUARY 2016
But, her research does not solely make up her time spent as a student of Rutgers. While on the track team she has been able to make connections with other student athletes, as well as open doors for her future. “I have learned valuable lessons around teamwork and large groups,” Rogombe said. “I have also been able to express myself and find confidence, while being on the track team.” As an eloquent student, Rogombe sets a high standard for what it means to be a student athlete. She is dedicated to school and track. While she only has one full year left, she continues to set high standards for herself. Rogombe does not look behind her — she simply focuses on her future and what she can do to conquer her goals, then proceeds to tackle them head on. “As an athlete I look to get better every day, with such an awesome opportunity,” Rogombe said. “As a student, I want to grow more, while I continue to study things that I’m interested in. I also want to grow as a person for the remainder of my time at Rutgers.” While she already holds the school record for indoor high jump, which is higher than the outdoor record, it is still a matter of mental and physical cohesiveness that will allow her to conquer that jump. Breaking the school record isn’t even her main focus, though — she is all about progressing and continuing to get better on her ride as a Knight. “Every single day it is about managing your time in order to succeed,” Rogombe said. “Being here has opened so many doors. I have been able to meet cool people, feel unique and even being here at Rutgers was such a great opportunity.” This Friday and Saturday, she and the rest of the team will head down Route 1 to Princeton, New Jersey for the Princeton Invitational, where she can take another crack at tearing down the school record, where she can potentially replace it with her name: Rhonda Rogombe. For updates on the Rutgers women's track and field team, follow @TargumSports on Twitter.
Page 11
April 3, 2019 TENNIS KNIGHTS STILL SEARCHING FOR 1ST BIG TEN WIN OF SEASON
RU’s next 6 matches to determine postseason ALEX FABUGAIS-INABA CORRESPONDENT
Six more matches. Six more opportunities to make the Big Ten tournament. There is nothing the Rutgers tennis team wants more than to make its name among the rest of the teams in its conference. The Scarlet Knights (8-7, 0-5) are trailing toward the bottom of the rankings, but they’re determined to change those stats around in the next couple of weeks. “In comparison to other teams, it’s very evident that there are Big Ten players that are quick and very, very aggressive,” said sophomore Maya Jacobs. “Those are things that we’ve also been working on this season and what we’re going to see a lot in the Big Ten. As we come away from those matches, we’ve made a lot of adjustments and we’re really excited to show what we’ve been working on.” After facing two hard losses to No. 24 Northwestern and No. 36 Illinois, Rutgers is remaining optimistic that its goal is still within reach. The key matches the Knights will be eyeing conference wins in are against Iowa, Nebraska and Purdue. Since the Hawkeyes (10-8, 2-4) are ranked 10th in the conference, they will be Rutgers’ hardest opponent to beat out of the three teams. The Cornhuskers (8-14, 0-6) sit comfortably at the bottom of the conference. If the Knights aren’t able to beat Nebraska, it’s unlikely they’ll make it into the tournament. There’s also the Boilermakers (6-11, 1-5), who didn’t start building up steam until this past weekend when they won against the Huskers 4-3.
The Big Ten tournament takes the top-10 teams in the conference based on ranking, head-to-head competitions and records. If Rutgers is able to run away with these Big Ten wins, it has a good shot at sneaking into the tournament. There’s one caveat: They’re all away competitions. In Illinois, Jacobs said the facility was big and the fans took their part in cheering, but that wasn’t the biggest factor leading the Knights to perform the way they did. Rutgers does fairly well in tuning out the hoots and hollers from other Big Ten home crowds, but there are so many other factors that go into away matches. Flying, busing, sleeping in a hotel and eating food they’re not used to can all contribute to poor performances. As long as the Knights are able to cope with these changes and put a solid travel routine in place, it won’t matter when competition comes around. But Rutgers is more worried about the actual mentality heading into a match, not just away or at home. “It’s about making sure we’re in the right mindset,” said junior Kat Muzik. “The night before the match, just taking a moment to visualize, sometimes that works for people and just thinking about what we’re going to do the next day.” In Jacobs’s mind, the right mindset can only be summarized best in two words: Ever yone’s beatable. The Knights will have the chance to take down their conference opponents, who are all eyeing the same spots in the Big Ten Tournament. Rutgers will fly
Junior Kat Muzik has earned seven wins in both singles and doubles play. Her most recent singles’ victory was against Binghamton on March 27. MICA FINEHART / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER / JANUARY 2019 out west to compete against Iowa on April 5 at 3 p.m. before facing Nebraska on April 7 at 9 a.m. With only a few short weeks left of the season, the Knights are trying to fine tune their skills in practice, hoping to implement those improvements into com-
petition. Time will only tell, but Rutgers has to balance on the physical and mental toughness needed to excel in one of the top conferences in the nation. “We have a lot of opportunities left in the six matches we have left,” Muzik said. “As long as we
QUARTERBACKS Teel passed for program-high 9,383 yards between 2005-2008 CONTINUED FROM BACK
Alumnus quarterback Gary Nova led the Knights to two bowl appearances, including a 2014 Quick Lane Bowl victory over the Tar Heels. THE DAILY TARGUM / AUGUST 2014
the Knights over their former Big East rival West Virginia. Lucas was also inserted into various lineups as a wideout and played on the special teams units. “If they said ‘Ray, after practice you’re going to shine 87 helmets,’ they were going to be some good-looking helmets,” Lucas said, according to scarletknigths. com. “If that’s what I had to do to make the squad, I was willing to do anything.” In 1993, the Harrison, New Jersey native tallied 1,011 passing yards. But, during his senior season, Lucas was the Big East’s total offense leader, averaging more than 220 yards per game. Heading into the 2000s, Lucas was the program’s leader in passing touchdowns with 43, before alumnus quarterback Ryan Hart broke his record with 52. Lucas is currently ranked fourth for this category. Since 2010, Lucas, who was selected to the Rutgers Hall of Fame in 2017, has since returned to his roots as a football analyst for the Rutgers IMG Sports Network.
MIKE TEEL
Alumnus quarterback Mike Teel was rated a two-star recruit by 247sports.com during his high school years at Don Bosco Prep, where he led the storied New Jersey football powerhouse to a 23-0 record under center. But, since redshirting in 2004, he has become one of the most prolific Rutgers student athletes. In his freshman season on the Banks, Teel completed approximately 50 percent of his passes, finishing 2005 with two touchdowns in eight games played. But, the fall of 2006 would be one for the record books. The Knights would start the season with an unblemished 8-0 record, with shutouts over Illinois and then-No. 24 Navy. During that stretch, they outscored their opponents 234-73. On Nov. 9, 2006, in front of a nationally televised audience, thenNo. 15 Rutgers shocked the nation by upsetting then-No. 3 Louisville 28-25, in a game that featured the likes of running backs Ray Rice and alumnus Brian Leonard, while current Rutgers running backs coach Kolby Smith was on the losing end
step up and make sure we really focus on everything and we’re really practicing, it’s still a goal that we can reach.” For updates on the Rutgers tennis team, follow @TargumSports on Twitter.
of the game, playing as a running back for the Cardinals. Teel would throw for 189 yards and a touchdown in that game, one of the most memorable evening kickoffs in Rutgers’ history.
GARY NOVA
Another Don Bosco Prep product, alumnus quarterback Gary Nova set various program records and remains in the top five on the passing yards, touchdowns, completions and attempts leaderboards, to name a few. After he was listed as the No. 1 quarterback in five games as a true freshman, Nova took the starters role in 2012, commanding the Knights to a Big East title in Kyle Flood’s first year as head coach. Despite losing to Virginia Tech in the Russell Athletic Bowl that year, Nova finished the season with 22 touchdowns and 2,695 total passing yards. Against Arkansas on the road during the regular season, he threw 5 touchdowns. Following a 2013 year where alumnus quarterback Chas Dodd earned the starters job under center, Nova earned his spot back as the No. 1 signal caller and led Rutgers to a Quick Lane Bowl win over North Carolina, in its first season as members of the Big Ten. For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @TargumSports on Twitter.
TWITTER: @TargumSports WEBSITE: DailyTargum.com/section/sports
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY—NEW BRUNSWICK
SPORTS
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Every single day it is about managing your time in order to succeed.” — Junior high jumper Rhonda Rogombe
WEDNESDAY APRIL 3, 2019
ONLINE AT DAILYTARGUM.COM
FOOTBALL REFLECTING ON MOST NOTABLE QUARTERBACKS IN KNIGHTS’ HISTORY
POCKET PRESENTS
Alumni quarterbacks Bert Kosup (left), Gary Nova (center) and Scott Erney (right) all donned the scarlet jersey to play under center in three different decades. They make up three of the Knights’ top-10 passing yards leaders in the program’s history. THE DAILY TARGUM
Highlights from 150 years of Rutgers’ quarterbacks JAKE SCHMIED ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
The Rutgers football team holds a special spot in the now-150-year history of college football. It was at the site of the College Avenue Gymnasium on Nov. 6, 1869, where Rutgers College defeated its Route 1 rival Princeton University (formerly known as the College of New Jersey) 6-4 in the first-ever football competition at the collegiate level. Fast forward 150 years to 2019. In more than 1.5 centuries, the Scarlet Knights have endured the ups and downs of any other collegiate football program. Many student athletes have made the journey to the Banks, moving up the gridiron ladder from the high school to the highly competitive collegiate level. Perhaps no other position in any level of football, though, is analyzed and discussed among fans and even non-fans than the quarterback
position. They have always been in the limelight as ambassadors of their teams. If there was a position job description for incoming freshman signal callers, it would emphasize the ability to be the voice of the offense. For these five Rutgers quarterbacks and many others, they were the epitome of this, leading their teams to bowl appearances, winning records and national awards to cement their legacies. With that being said, here are five Knights to take snaps under center for Rutgers:
BERT KOSUP
Alumnus quarterback Bert Kosup was one of the Knights’ offensive leaders during Rutgers’ last undefeated season in 1976. In ‘76, the Knights went 11-0 as an independent program unaffiliated with a conference at the time. Kosup quarterbacked the then-No. 17 Rutgers team to outscore its opponents by 206 total points at the end of the ‘76 season.
sophomore goalkeeper on the field hockey team, will compete for the Team USA U-21 team in the 3 Nations Invitational from April 17-24 in Monchengladbach, Germany. She finished with a 13-6 record last season.
SCOTT ERNEY
In 39 game appearances between 1986 and 1989, Erney threw for 7,188 yards, fourth on the program’s all-time passing yards list. A signature moment of Erney’s quarterback tenure was when Rutgers upset thenNo. 14 Penn State in 1988, the last time it took down its Big Ten rival. In that game, he went 9-20 and threw for 85 yards en route to a 21-16 upset over the
team that Erney, a Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania native, grew up near. During his senior season, Erney captured a 116.7 QBR and a career-high 15 touchdowns.
RAY LUCAS
Before he spent seven seasons in the NFL with the New York Jets, New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins, alumnus quar terback Ray Lucas was a four-year letter winner and star ted behind center from 1992-1995. Lucas ranks sixth on the Knights’ all-time passing yards list, with 5,896 yards. After redshirting in 1991, Lucas would make four starts in 1992, his first official start as quarterback. His most notable game that season was when he threw for 191 yards, accounting for approximately 61 percent of Rutgers’ 313 total offensive yards, to lead
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Under former head coach Frank R. Burns, the Knights were deemed national champions by the Dun Herm poll. Kosup threw for 1,098 passing yards as Rutgers’ first quarterback in NCAA Division I era. He completed his four years on the Banks with 25 touchdowns and is ninth on the program’s all-time scoring and passing list. One of Kosup’s finest moments on the Banks came in 1977, when he threw a 95-yarder to alumnus wide receiver George Carter against Temple.
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